1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a water jet massaging system for applying water jet massage to parts of a human body taking advantage of pressure, impact, friction, and the like of water jet.
2. Description of the Related Art
Kinetic massage similar to that given by finger-pressure therapy can be applied to the body of a person taking bath, taking advantage of localized pressurization of, or impact to the body caused by a pressure of water jet, or friction occurring between the water jet and the skin of the body when the water jet at an appropriate pressure is caused to beat at the surface of the skin. This type of treatment can provide massaging effects which such a static treatment as is given by the finger-pressure therapy is not expected to provide. It is well known that massaging given in a hot bath utilizing hot water jet is effective in refreshing the body, coupled with beneficial effects of taking a dip in the hot bath, and by injecting water jet, immeasurably beneficial effects are expected. This type of massaging systems have been disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2502192 under the title "Beauty Promotion System in Bath", Japanese Patent Laid-open H 1-178028 "Liquid Jet Type Massaging System", and so on.
However, there have been very few massaging systems utilizing water jet which can be put to use at home with ease because of such problems as needs for installing an elaborate apparatus for generating high pressure water jet for use in a bathtub at home, inconvenience in handling, and the like.
There has been another problem that when water is sucked into a system via an intake dipped in a bath, the intake sometimes sticks to the body or the inner walls of a bathtub. Normally, hot water is sucked in through the intake composed of a flexible pipe, and when a pressure for injecting hot water is increased, a force for sucking the hot water from the bathtub also increases, increasing a risk of the intake sticking to the body or the sidewalls of the bathtub. In the event of the intake sticking to the body, this will not only give the user discomfort, but also block suction of the hot water, resulting in stoppage of water flow. In such a case, operation of a pump unit needs to be stopped in order to remove the intake from the body or the like.
There has been yet another problem with the system that when a water jet at an appropriate pressure is produced to enhance massaging effects, sticking of a nozzle to the body occurs. FIG. 11 shows a condition in which water jet W from a nozzle 202 beats at the skin 200 of a body. When the skin 200 is at some distance from the end face of the nozzle 202, the water jet W causes a recess 204 to be formed on the surface of the skin 200, and simultaneously, bounces back from the skin 200 in radial directions. On the other hand, when the nozzle 202 comes closer to the skin 200 as shown in FIG. 12, exit areas 206 for the water jet W are narrowed down while a pressure at work on the surface of the skin 200 increases. As a result, a flow velocity increases dramatically. Due to such relationship between the velocity of the water jet W and the pressure as described above, an abnormal phenomenon of the end face of the nozzle 202 sticking to the skin 200 occurs, causing discomfort on the part of the user. The higher the pressure of discharge from the nozzle 202 is, the more pronounced such a phenomenon of the nozzle 202 sticking to the skin becomes.